“I don’t have anything bad to say about [Bevin],” the junior Republican senator from Kentucky told POLITICO. “I think he’s a good family man and does mission work.”

The exchange illustrates the land mines Paul faces as he navigates an intraparty war in Kentucky between the two factions he’s trying to court ahead of a possible 2016 White House run: tea party activists and the Republican establishment.

Since declaring himself the tea party candidate in the 2010 elections, Paul has methodically tried to broaden his appeal beyond the conservative grass-roots movement. And nowhere has that been more apparent than in his increasingly close ties to McConnell, the Senate veteran who could be a critical asset in selling a Paul White House candidacy to the party establishment.

So as McConnell descends into a GOP civil war with tea party-backed candidate Bevin to defend his Senate seat in 2014, Paul must perform a careful balancing act: Show complete support for McConnell, all the while avoiding alienating the same tea party supporters who helped him in 2010 and whom he’ll need in 2016.

Speaking to Kentucky reporters this week, the libertarian-leaning senator said he wouldn’t try to dissuade Bevin from running.

“I’m not giving him encouragement or discouragement,” Paul said. “It’s a free country and anyone who wants to run can. I have endorsed Sen. McConnell.”

After defeating McConnell’s handpicked candidate in the 2010 Senate primary, Paul has developed a close political alliance with McConnell that benefits both men. The tea party favorite has long said he supports the GOP leader’s reelection campaign, something he reiterated in a prepared statement on Wednesday. Paul and McConnell advisers say it’s not the first-term senator’s role to play attack dog in the McConnell campaign, nor is it his style — so it’s hardly a surprise that he’s pulling his punches against a fellow Republican, they say.

“In this campaign, we’re just happy to have his friendship and support,” said Benton, a longtime Paul family confidant, who is married to the junior senator’s niece.

Midterm elections can be key moments for future White House hopefuls, giving them an opportunity to shine with their party faithful, meet prominent donors and polish their stump speeches. And if Paul tried to make the case that Bevin is not a true conservative, his words could carry more weight in many circles than McConnell’s, given the veteran senator’s support for controversial bipartisan deals over his 28-year career.

But engaging in a messy, mud-slinging primary can be a major risk. Indeed, just as McConnell was preparing to unveil a six-figure ad buy attacking Bevin on the day he announced his campaign, Paul wasn’t eager to take a shot at the Louisville businessman.

In the interview, Paul said he met Bevin when the political newcomer was weighing a run for a House seat some years back, and they ran into each other in a past campaign stop. Paul said McConnell has “pretty good support” in a Republican primary, and he’d be “surprised if there’s a significant challenge,” predicting the incumbent would win.

Asked again in a separate interview about Bevin, Paul said he would stick to his previous statements and declined further comment.

“I’m not going to really have a substantive conversation other than that,” Paul said.

Immediately after Paul’s victory in the 2010 primary over McConnell’s candidate, Trey Grayson, the GOP leader offered political and fundraising support to the upstart, as the two men barnstormed the state by bus and spoke regularly about campaign tactics. Soon after he was elected, Paul found McConnell to be an important ally since the GOP leader would push to have his amendments considered on the Senate floor, even if they had no chance at passing. And McConnell assigned Paul spots on key committees, including Foreign Relations, allowing the possible White House hopeful an opportunity to develop a foreign policy repertoire.